ABSTRACT

Following the rise of performance management movements and New Public Management, many countries have established new or strengthened their Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) and introduced performance auditing. The outcome of this practice is, however, contested. In the UK, for example, Michael Power has labelled this development ‘the audit society’. He argues that audit is shaping many organizations’ practices and managers’ everyday experiences but represents rituals producing comfort without furthering the improvement of the public sector or society at large. Alongside economic crises and public management reforms, the public sector worldwide has been under pressure to improve its performance and administrative accountability. Following the financial crisis in 2007-2008 there is an increased interest in finding out whether performance audit is ‘delivering’ on its promises. This chapter analyses comparative survey data on civil servants’ perceptions of the audit process and the impact of performance audit on public administration in the Scandinavian countries. We consider four dimensions of impacts: perceived usefulness; holding ministers to account; causing changes; and making improvements in the audited organizations. In addition, the chapter discusses some institutional factors that may influence the impacts.